Raw primitives describe the value space; semantic tokens describe the application space. Raw primitives name what a value is (--brocade-raw-color-blue-500). Semantic tokens name what a value is for (--brocade-color-primary-base). Semantic tokens reference raw primitives through var() with a literal fallback.
Modes are conditional overrides of semantic tokens (dark, high-contrast, reduced-motion). Themes are wholesale replacements of raw primitives. Modes are “how to apply the palette”; themes are “which palette.” Cascade Layers are all-or-nothing: partial adoption silently defeats overrides because unlayered rules beat layered ones at equal specificity.
Composes with